The Great Gatsby: Biographical Criticism

F.Scott Fitzgerald

Biographical Criticism 

Biographical criticism is a form of literary criticism which analyses a writer's biography to show the relationship between the author's life and their works of literature. It is essentially a more focused kind of contextual analysis relating to how the author's own life is reflected in how and what they wrote and the characters they created. By examining the author's biography you can draw parallels between their experiences and the experiences they have engineered in their literature which highlights what greatly effected them and reveals why they have included certain things.

    The Great Gatsby

      

      WW1:

      Fitzgerald enrolled in the army in 1917 and this is very likely to have influenced his characterisation of Nick and Gatsby who both fought in WW1. Furthermore, parallels can be more specifically drawn between the relationships of Fitzgerald and Gatsby in relation to the war. Fitzgerald met Zelda, his future wife, during the war and despite agreeing to marry him she delayed the wedding until Fitzgerald had published his first book and become more financially viable. This fraught courtship is reflected in Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy in all but the fact that Gatsby, unlike Fitzgerald, does not succeed in being with the woman he loves.
     
Money:
Linking to the relationship parallels, Fitzgerald's pursuit of money and fame can also be seen to be echoed in the character of Gatsby.The Fitzgerald's relied on inheritance and donations from family members to maintain a comfortable lifestyle and it is arguable that F.Scott Fitzgerald himself always felt like he didn't quite fit in with the wealthy crowd. Similarly, the character of Gatsby begins poor and gradually gains wealth through illegal activities allowing him to fund an extravagant lifestyle. Nevertheless there are hints throughout the book that his new money, not even gained honestly, sets him apart from characters like Tom- even though they can afford the same things.

Alcohol: 

      Fitzgerald was a raging alcoholic, encouraged by his wife Zelda, and this can be seen in Gatsby through the presentation of alcohol consumption and the way it can change people. Prohibition encouraged consumption in secret and Fitzgerald is known to have hosted and attended numerous drinking parties like the ones we see the characters take part in during The Great Gatsby, such as Tom and Myrtle’s in Chapter 2.
Alcohol might also have been reflected in the character of Gatsby who abstains from alcohol and is seen by many as the ‘best’ character in the book, suggesting that Fitzgerald was aware of the negative effects of drinking and was creating a parallel representation of his own life with his biggest flaw removed.

      The Jazz Age: 

      After publishing his first book, Fitzgerald was propelled into a life of celebrity and extravagance. Yet, just like Nick in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald is known to have seen through the excitement of the rich to the lack of morality beneath. It could be argued that the novel is a way for Fitzgerald to confront his feelings about the jazz age and present how, through Gatsby, the pursuit of a woman and the extravagant lifestyle he desired lead him to become immersed in everything he hated.